Handle attachment

ABSTRACT

A vegetable peeler wherein the blade shank extends into an enlarged opening in the handle and the shank tip is affixed to the handle by means of a yoke which is cut from the side of and is bent inwardly of the handle to engage the shank.

United States Patent [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS [72] inventor RobertJ.Rose

Harwlnton, Conn.

9999 7777 2222 0000 3333 M W n m m N u m m m Mme WP fhu fle N d mwm n m a 0 E 8-! vl FZGB O 39 4446 9999 HUN 2269 497 4083 8 25 5 3626 2 .3 2223 0 C m r u 0 m n an am 8|. %7 9un III-n0 6 r 9 3nl3 T.m r m u 0 7 JTT 0 o. N m m n I 00 P um x AFPA 1.111] I253 2247 1,236,932 6/1960 France Primary Examiner- Robert C. Riordon Assistant Examiner-J. C. Peters Arromey--Ward, McElhannon, Brooks & Fitzpatrick ABSTRACT: A vegetable peeler wherein the blade shank ex- [54] HANDLE ATTACHMENT 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

tends into an enlarged opening in the handle and the shank tip is affixed to the handle by means of a yoke which is cut from the side of and is bent inwardly of the handle to engage the shank.

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HANDLE ATTACHMENT This invention relates to hand instruments and more particularly it concerns handle attachment arrangements for such instruments.

The present invention is particularly suitable in the production of hand vegetable peelers. These peelers comprise an elongated bifurcated blade which is loosely though securely attached to a handle. The blade attachment arrangement is such as to permit limited pivoted movement of the blade (e.g. about 90) about its longitudinal axis.

Hand vegetable peelers are one of several types of hand instruments known to the trade as high volume items. That is, they are relatively low-priced items which cannot be produced competitively except in large quantities. In order to produce these items in large quantities, however, the production efiiciency must be optimized, otherwise the unit cost of the item will be very seriously affected.

As indicated above, the blade of a vegetable peeler must be securely mounted on the handle; and yet, it must be free to rotate a limited amount. In order to provide this ability, the blades are generally provided with an elongated tubular shank which extends down into the handle through an enlarged opening at one end.

In some prior art constructions a pin would be forced transversely through the handle and would pass through an enlarged transverse hole near the tip of the blade shank. This pin and transverse hold arrangement permitted limited rotational movement of the blade, yet held it secure from longitudinal movement; and in cooperation with the opening at the end of the handle it prevented any tilting of the blade out of longitu dinal alignment with the handle. This described prior art construction required a rather heavy and therefore expensive handle construction to support the transverse pin. In addition, the pin itself and the operations required to insert it and fasten it were time consuming and expensive.

Other prior art constructions involved the use of a hollow handle which was formed simply by bending a ribbon of sheet metal into a generally flattened loop. An enlarged opening was formed at one end for insertion of a blade shank. The blade shank was provided with an extension, such as an elongated pin forced longitudinally in one end; and this pin extended through an opening at the other end of the handle. The pin was crimped, swaged or spun at its end to lock it from longitudinal movement with the handle while permitting rotational movement. In order to limit the degree of blade rotation a pair of ears were formed at the blade end of the handle to act as lugs and engage the blade edges when it was rotated to given positions. This last-described construction, although it used a less expensive handle, still suffered from the difficulty of complex and expensive assembly techniques. The elongated pin used for the blade shank extension had to be press fitted into the blade. It also had to be specially crimped at its other end after being fitted to a hole in the corresponding end of the handle. Also a special construction was necessary to provide the blade rotation limiting function.

The present invention overcomes the above-described difficulties of the prior art. According to the present invention, the need of a heavy solid handle is eliminated along with the need for separate pins and their attendant assembly, and crimping, spinning or swaying operations. Moreover, there is no need, according to the present invention, to construct special ears or lugs to limit blade rotation.

The present invention achieves its novel results through the provision of a unique handle design. This new handle design simplifies and speeds up the production and assembly operations of hand instruments such as vegetable peelers. Accord ing to the present invention, the handle, which is hollow, has along one side, a segment which is partially cut out and is bent inwardly to engage the end of the blade or working element shank.

In a preferred embodiment, the handle is formed by bending a strap of metal into an elongated loop. Before or after this loop-forming operation, an opening is formed in the portion c r the metal constituting one end of the loop. Also, an elongated segment is partially cut out of one side and this segment is bent, as by punching, so that its free end is positioned along the axis of the handle to engage the shank tip of the blade or working element.

As illustratively embodied, the shank tip is tubular and has a transverse opening extending through it. The end of the bentin segment extends upinto the hollow shank tip past the transverse opening. A punch is then forced through the transverse opening to further bend the tip of the handle segment out through the transverse shank opening, thereby locking the shank to the handle.

Various further and more specific objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear from the description given below, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, illustration by way of example a preferred form of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vegetable peeler forming one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the vegetable peeler of FIG. 1 during the process of its manufacture;

- FIG. 3 is an enlarged section view, partially cut away, taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view, partially cut away and partially in section, of the portion of the peeler shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the peeler shown in FIG. 4.

The vegetable peeler shown in FIG. 1 comprises a handle 10 to which is attached a blade 12. The handle 10 is formed of a strap 14 of metal such as cold-rolled carbon steel with a thickness of about 0.050 inches and a width of about sevensixteenths inch. The metal strap 14, as shown, is bent to form an elongated loop of a configuration and size permitting same to be held conveniently in the hand. The handle loop is closed mechanically in order to avoid any welding operations. This is achieved as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, by forming a locking tab 16 on one end of the strap 14 and a transverse slot 18 near the opposite end of the strap. The locking tab 16 is bent up over the slot end and is passed through the slot 18 and bent back against the strap thereby providing a secure and completely mechanical closure.

The blade l2 may also be formed of carbon steel; or, if desired, it can be formed of stainless steel. The blade 12 is of conventional bifurcated construction, and comprises an elongated cutting portion 20 of arcuate cross section and having a longitudinal slot 22 extending therealong. An elongated tubular shank portion 24 is fomted integrally with the cutting portion 20 at one end thereof. The cutting portion 20 is ground down along its convex side as at 26 so as to form two mutually facing sharp cutting edges 28.

The manner of securing the blade 12 to the handle 10 will now be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the end of the handle 10, opposite the tab 16 and slot 18, is formed with an enlarged opening 30. This opening loosely accommodates the shank portion 24 of the blade 12.

The handle 10 is also cut or stamped to form a generally rectangular cutout 32 on one side of the handle toward the blade end thereof. The cutout 32 remains integrally attached to the handle at one end, but is bent inwardly and upwardly along the central longitudinal axis of the handle. The cutout is approximately three-fourths inch long and three-sixteenth inch wide where it is attached to the handle. However, it narrows to approximately one-eighth inch in width beyond the point where it bends upwardly. This permits this portion of the cutout to enter freely into the end of the tubular shank portion of the blade 12.

The very tip of the cutout 32 is configured as a locking extension 34. This locking extension is positioned along one edge of the cutout 32 and is about one-eighth inch long and one-sixteenth inch wide. The entire cutout 32, including the locking extension 34, can be cut and bent to the position shown in FIG. 2 in a single operation by means of a press either before, during or after formation of the handle 10.

The shank portion 24 of the blade 12 is formed with a transverse hole 36 near the end thereof. When the blade is assembled on the handle, the tubular shank portion 24 passes through the handle opening 30 and down onto and over the bent-up portion of the cutout 32. At this point the locking extension 34 is positioned adjacent the transverse hole 36 of the shank portion 24. Then, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the locking extension 34 is bent laterally, as by a further punch, so that it passes out through the hole 36 on one side of the shank portion.

The blade 12 is thus secured to the handle 10. The opening 30 in the handle permits free rotation of the blade and yet it does not allow the blade to tip away from longitudinal alignment with the handle. The cutout portion 32 serves as a yoke which holds the end of the shank from lateral movement and yet permits blade rotation. Finally, the locking extension 34, which passes through the transverse hole 36 of the shank portion, serves both to limit the amount of shank and blade rotation; and it prevents the blade from being pulled longitudinally out of the handle it will be appreciated that the above-described peeler requires a minimum of material and can be formed and assembled with a minimum of operation. Accordingly, its cost, both in materials and in assembly, can be reduced substantially beyond that possible with peelers and similar devices of the prior art.

Although a certain specific embodiment of the invention is herein disclosed for purposes of explanation, further modifications thereof, after study of this specification, will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. Reference should accordingly be had to the appended claims in determining the scope of the invention.

What I claim and desire to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A handtool comprising a hollow handle of sheet material of a size and configuration suited to be grasped in the hand,

said handle having first and second ends and further having sides extending between said ends, elongated working element having a shank which extends into said handle along its longitudinal axis through an opening in said first end, said opening loosely accommodating said shank, a segment of one of said sides extending inwardly of said handle and engaging said shank, said segment being bent at said longitudinal axis to provide shank-engaging surfaces along said longitudinal axis which hold the end of the shank from lateral and longitudinal movement while limiting the shank to a predetermined degree of rotational movement, said shank being tubular and said segment of said handle being bent to extend axially up inside said shank.

2. A handtool according to claim 1 wherein said handle is a partially flattened loop of strap metal and said segment is bent in from one side of said handle.

3. A handtool according to claim 2 wherein said loop is closed by means of a tab and slot arrangement at the end opposite said working element.

4. A handtool according to claim 1 wherein the tip of said portion of said handle is further bent to extend laterally out through a transverse hole in said shank.

5. A vegetable peeler comprising an elongated blade member having an axially aligned tubular shank, a handle formed of strap metal bent into a partially flattened loop of a size and configuration adapted to be gripped in the hand, said shank entering loosely into said handle through an enlarged opening in one end, a portion of said handle being cut and bent inwardly from the side thereofito form a yoke, said yoke extending to the axial region of the handle and being bent upwardly to extend up into said tubular shank, and the tip of said yoke being bent to extend laterally through a transverse hole in said shank.

6. A vegetable peeler according to claim 5 wherein said transverse hole in said shank and said tip of said yoke extend in a direction crossways of the plane of said loop.

7. A vegetable peeler according to claim 5 wherein said portion of said handle is cut out from a region approximately midway of the longitudinal edges of said strap metal. 

1. A handtool comprising a hollow handle of sheet material of a size and configuration suited to be grasped in the hand, said handle having first and second ends and further having sides extending between said ends, elongated working element having a shank which extends into said handle along its longitudinal axis through an opening in said first end, said opening loosely accommodating said shank, a segment of one of said sides extending inwardly of said handle and engaging said shank, said segment being bent at said longitudinal axis to provide shankengaging surfaces along said longitudinal axis which hold the end of the shank from lateral and longitudinal movement while limiting the shank to a predetermined degree of rotational movement, said shank being tubular and said segment of said handle being bent to extend axially up inside said shank.
 2. A handtool according to claim 1 wherein said handle is a partially flattened loop of strap metal and said segment is bent in from one side of said handle.
 3. A handtool acCording to claim 2 wherein said loop is closed by means of a tab and slot arrangement at the end opposite said working element.
 4. A handtool according to claim 1 wherein the tip of said portion of said handle is further bent to extend laterally out through a transverse hole in said shank.
 5. A vegetable peeler comprising an elongated blade member having an axially aligned tubular shank, a handle formed of strap metal bent into a partially flattened loop of a size and configuration adapted to be gripped in the hand, said shank entering loosely into said handle through an enlarged opening in one end, a portion of said handle being cut and bent inwardly from the side thereof to form a yoke, said yoke extending to the axial region of the handle and being bent upwardly to extend up into said tubular shank, and the tip of said yoke being bent to extend laterally through a transverse hole in said shank.
 6. A vegetable peeler according to claim 5 wherein said transverse hole in said shank and said tip of said yoke extend in a direction crossways of the plane of said loop.
 7. A vegetable peeler according to claim 5 wherein said portion of said handle is cut out from a region approximately midway of the longitudinal edges of said strap metal. 